Coffee and Chat Week

From 18th - 24th September 2017, Circles Network, will be hosting a Coffee and Chat week to promote inclusion in a bid to eradicate loneliness.

The campaign, which will run for a week, focuses, on people and making small, noticeable differences each day in each other's' lives. Encouraging everyone to take the time to chat to old friends, and new, over a cup of coffee and a slice of cake, Circles Network intends to promote the value of inclusion and the importance of having a circle of support around each one of us.

The figures for loneliness in the UK are startling, with 17% of older people stating that they are in contact with family, friends and neighbours less than once a week, and 11% confirmed that they are in contact with others less than once a month. It is not just older people who are vulnerable to isolation. In 2016, over 4000 children who had counselling sessions in the UK reported feeling lonely and isolated.

Mandy Neville, CEO, said of the campaign, "Everybody can make a difference; we all have good words to say and to share with others. Here at Circles Network, inclusion is our ethos. Isolation and loneliness create havoc with people's wellbeing in Britain and, as the figures show, it only seems to be getting worse.

Although it seems like a simple act, having a few minutes conversation with someone over a cup of coffee can make such a difference and have a powerful impact in somebody's life."

The idea is to host a Coffee and Chat in your home, local tea shop or garden, with friends, family or even neighbours! We will be running the event for the whole week so you can choose when to host your event.

If you would like to host a coffee and chat event, large or small, to register for a pack which contains flyers, posters, cake recipe ideas and more information about the event, send your name, email and postal address to info@circlesnetwork.org.uk.

All money raised from the event will be used to enrich Circles Network's local community and inclusion projects.